TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR CHROMIUM - Davidborowski.com

CHROMIUM 692. HEALTH EFFECTSexamination of three of the growths led to the diagnosis of papilloma, which was considered to be aprecancerous lesion. All of the papillomas were found to contain chromium (mean 9.25 mg %), and werebelieved to be due to chromium exposure via mouth breathing. Analysis of the breathing zone of theelectroplaters showed that the average air level above the plating baths was 0.414 mg chromium(VI)/m 3(Hanslian et al. 1967).Stainless Steel Welding. Inconclusive results have been obtained in studies of stainless steel welders. Astudy of 1,221 stainless steel welders in the former Federal Republic of Germany found no increased riskof lung cancer or any other specific type of malignancy compared with 1,694 workers involved withmechanical processing (not exposed to airborne welding fumes) or with the general population of theformer Federal Republic of Germany (Becker et al. 1985). A follow-up study (Becker 1999) whichextended the observation period to 1995, found similar results for lung (includes bronchus and trachea)cancer (SMR=121.5, 95% CI=80.7–175.6). An excess risk of pleura mesothelioma was observed(SMR=1179.9; 95% CI=473.1–2430.5); however, this was attributed to asbestos exposure. A study of234 workers from eight companies in Sweden, who had welded stainless steel for at least 5 years duringthe period of 1950–1965 and followed until 1984, found five deaths from pulmonary tumors, comparedwith two expected (SMR=249), based on the national rates for Sweden. The excess was not statisticallysignificant. However, when the incidence of lung cancer in the stainless steel welders was compared withan internal reference group, a significant difference was found after stratification for age. The averageconcentration of chromium(VI) in workroom air from stainless steel welding, determined in 1975, wasreported as 0.11 mg/m 3 (Sjogren et al. 1987). The cohort in this study was small, and stainless welderswere also exposed to nickel fumes. Smoking was probably not a confounding factor in the comparisonswith the internal reference group. Further studies of stainless steel welders were recommended.In a study of the mortality patterns in a cohort of 4,227 workers involved in the production of stainlesssteel from 1968 to 1984, information was collected from individual job histories, and smoking habitswere obtained from interviews with workers still active during the data collection (Moulin et al. 1993).The observed number of deaths was compared to expected deaths based on national rates and matched forage, sex, and calender time. No significant excess risk of lung cancer was noted among workersemployed in melting and casting stainless steel [SMR=104]. However, there was a significant excessamong stainless steel foundry workers [SMR=229]. The SMR increased for workers with length ofemployment over 30 years to 334 (119–705). No measurements of exposure were provided.